As an update on the firing of 16 employees of the Harris County Hospital District, KTRK in Houston reports that the employees were from different facilities: nine from Ben Taub, six from Northwest Community Center and one from Holly Hall. And it seems that my hunch that it was a snooping violation was correct. KTRK…
Category: Health Data
TX: Hospital District Employees Fired for Violation
Andrea Watkins reports: A major breach in patient privacy at the Harris County Hospital District has caused 16 employees to lose their jobs. Melinda Muse, a hospital district spokeswoman, says the employees were fired because of HIPAA violations. […] HCHD says it will not confirm specific details on the privacy breach, but it released the…
GAO: DoD loses track of 72,000 combat medical records
Judi Hasson reports: There are so many data breaches throughout government these days that it’s getting tiresome. The question is why do they keep happening? Last week, the Government Accountability Office disclosed another one–this time from the Defense Department. The GAO revealed that DoD could not account for more than 72,000 health questionnaires that were…
At UMC, audits show privacy lapses are not new
Marshall Allen of the Las Vegas Sun is staying all over the UMC breach reported here previously. In today’s commentary, he reviews the findings of past audits of UMC’s HIPAA compliance: University Medical Center, facing a possible FBI investigation for allowing confidential patient information to be leaked to outsiders, has a spotty record of adhering…
Cleveland VA employees may have sneaked a peek at suspected serial killer's medical records
Joan Mazzolini reports: The Cleveland Veterans Affairs hospital is investigating whether employees snooped in serial killing suspect Anthony Sowell’s private medical records. A spokeswoman for the Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center confirmed that an investigation was under way. It was unclear if it is an internal investigation or if federal VA authorities were called in….
CA: OB/GYN accused of patient ID theft for drugs
As a follow-up to a case previously mentioned on this site, Michelle Tuzee reports on the case of Dr. Lisa Michelle Barden, a physician who was arrested in January for stealing patients’ identities to support her drug habit. Barden is charged with 276 felonies, including identity theft, forgery, burglary and possession of controlled substances. Court…